Many consumer electronic devices are equipped with an infrared receiver to facilitate remote operation with an infrared remote control. The infrared receiver is generally designed to receive infrared signals modulated at a predetermined carrier frequency. The carrier frequency, however, is non-standard in that it can vary from receiver to receiver, ranging from 30 kHz to 60 kHz. The lack of a standard modulation frequency can result in inconsistent operation of remotely controlled devices. For example, an infrared receiver designed to receive infrared signals modulated at 38 kHz may not respond to infrared signals modulated at 36 kHz.
One approach to solving this problem involves designing the infrared receiver to accept modulated signals at a wider range of frequencies, but this makes the receiver more sensitive to interference from external sources, such as fluorescent lighting or plasma televisions. An infrared receiver is needed with optimum sensitivity afforded by narrow band operation but with the ability to accept a wide range of modulation frequencies.